Hansi Flick tells Barcelona where to improve after perfect start to La Liga season

The Hansi Flick Era is off to a perfect start as Barcelona top the early La Liga table thanks to three straight 2-1 victoriesto begin the 2024-25 season, but the boss isn’t completely happy just yet.

Barça have shown great resilience and quality to earn those victories, and the tactical changes made by Flick have also had a positive impact on the team as a whole. But naturally there have also been bad moments during games, particularly the first 10 minutes of the midweek match against Rayo Vallecano in which Barça conceded once and looked out of sorts with and without the ball.

Flick has noticed those issues and spoke about them in a press conference on Friday, and made it clear he wants his team to show the same intensity and mentality seen in the second halves of matches from the very beginning.

“It is very important that the team is very focused on the match from the very beginning. We can’t wait 10 minutes. We have a lot of confidence in the second half, we’re usually 100% then and that’s what I want from the team for the entire game. That’s a must, the foundation of our idea. The quality of the team is already fantastic.

“We have a special mentality. The players I have are a delight, they are so professional. I admire this team. After the win against Rayo, it surprised me how worried they were about Marc Bernal. I feel very proud of the team’s reaction. Their mentality is fantastic, and you can only win if you have that mentality as a group. We are united. We can face anything.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo

The mentality mentioned by Hansi is absolutely noticeable during games. His team doesn’t give up and stays calm and composed while still chasing the result relentlessly. There’s very little desperation, but there’s a real urgency to go for the win with the confidence that they’ll find a way.

And if and when they learn to channel that urgency from the start, Barça can compete with anyone all season.